Looking to get up to speed on what's ahead within the club rugby world? Here's a quick rundown of what to expect this year for the Heineken Champions Cup.

What Is The Heineken Champions Cup?

Overseen by European Professional Club Rugby, the Heineken Champions Cup is an annual tournament that combines the top teams from the previous year's league seasons in England's Premiership Rugby, France's Top 14 and the multinational United Rugby Championship and puts them together in a competition format. 

Launched in 1995, it's club rugby's answer to the uber-popular UEFA Champions League in soccer, bringing together the continent's best rugby squads in a high-stakes setup that features a 24-team, four-match pool stage, followed by knockout rounds, beginning with a Round of 16. 

Winning the final is considered to be the pinnacle achievement in European club rugby, though for the first time in 2022-2023, it won't just be European clubs competing for the top prize. 

Following the revamp of the Pro14 to the United Rugby Championship, which completed its first season under its new name and format in 2021-2022, and the addition of South African clubs to the competition, teams from the country became eligible to qualify for the Champions Cup through the URC, of which four clubs did so for this year's tournament. 

?WEEKEND SCHEDULE REVEALED ?

Your 2022/23 #HeinekenChampionsCup weekends are in the diary with kick-off dates and times arriving shortly ?

Rate your team’s schedule out of 10…?

— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) July 21, 2022

In an additional change for this year, knockout-round matchups will take place as a single match, rather than a two-legged showdown, ramping up the stakes, as every game following the pool stage now is a winner-take-all scenario. 

French side La Rochelle won its first Champions Cup last year after finishing as runner-up the year before, but it's a different French club, Toulouse, that is the most successful club in the competition's history, with five titles to its name.

Where And When Can I Watch It?

Pool play begins Dec. 9, and the Champions Cup will continue until May 20, 2023, when the final is contested at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. 

The season will be streamed in its entirety on FloRugby for U.S.-based subscribers. A full fixture list for all of the pool stage games is available here.

What Teams Should I Look Out For?

Here's a brief outlook of each team playing in the 2022-2023 Heineken Champions Cup season, along with the pool draws:

Pool A

Gloucester (Gloucester, England). Championships: None

Harlequins (London, England). Championships: None

Saracens (London, England). Championships: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2018-2019

Exeter Chiefs (Exeter, England). Championships: None

Bordeaux-Begles (Bordeaux, France). Championships: None

Castres Olympique (Castres, France). Championships: None

Racing 92 (Nanterre, France). Championships: None

Lyon (Lyon, France). Championships: None

Leinster (Dublin, Ireland). Championships: 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2017-2018

Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland). Championships: None

Sharks (Durban, South Africa). Championships: None

Bulls (Pretoria, South Africa). Championships: None

Pool B

Leicester Tigers (Leicester, England). Championships: 2000-2001, 2001-2002

Northampton Saints (Northampton, England). Championships: 1999-2000

Sale Sharks (Manchester, England). Championships: None

London Irish (London, England). Championships: None

Montpellier (Montpellier, France). Championships: None

La Rochelle (La Rochelle, France). Championships: 2021-2022.

Toulouse (Toulouse, France). Championships: 1995-1996, 2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2009-2010, 2020-2021

Clermont (Clermont-Ferrand, France). Championships: None

Ulster (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Championships: 1998-1999

Munster (Limerick/Cork, Ireland). Championships: 2005-2006, 2007-2008

Ospreys (Swansea, Wales). Championships: None

Stormers (Cape Town, South Africa). Championships: None